Virginia Peninsula Literary Consortium

2018 Author Talk Features J.A. Jance

New York Times best-selling author J.A. Jance will present an author talk and book signing starting at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, at Christopher Newport University’s David Student Union. Jance is the author of more than fifty mysteries in four different series featuring J.P. Beaumont, Joanna Brady, Ali Reynolds, and the Walker family. Her most recent book, Duel to the Death, was released March 20th and is the thirteenth book in the Ali Reynolds Mystery series.

Free tickets for the author talk, question-and-answer session and book signing are available beginning Monday, Sept. 10, at the sponsoring libraries of the Virginia Peninsula Literary Consortium (VPLC), which consists of the public libraries of York County, Newport News, Hampton, and Poquoson and the academic libraries of Christopher Newport University, Hampton University and Thomas Nelson Community College. Tickets will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis and limited to two per person while supplies last.

Open seating to the event, to be held in the David Student Union ballroom at Christopher Newport University, is limited, and attendees are advised to arrive early. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Ticket holders will be seated first at the event. Any remaining seats will then be open to the general public.

More About the Author

Perennially on the New York Times bestseller list and with millions of books in print, J.A. Jance was born in South Dakota and grew up in Bisbee, Arizona. She was a voracious reader who knew she wanted to be a writer from the moment she read her first Wizard of Oz book in second grade. Always drawn to mysteries, from Nancy Drew right through John D. McDonald's Travis Magee, it was only natural that when she tried her hand at writing her first book, it would be a mystery as well.

Ms. Jance graduated from the University of Arizona with a BA in English and Secondary Education and a M.Ed. in Library Science. In 2000, she awarded an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters.

After teaching high school English in Tucson for two years and working as a K-12 librarian on an Indian reservation for five, she went on to spend the next ten years in the life insurance industry before finally turning her hand to writing full time in the early 1980s.

Jance is an avid crusader for many causes including the American Cancer Society, Gilda's Club, the Humane Society, the YWCA, and the Girl Scouts. A lover of animals, Jance and her husband have a rescued Dachshund named Bella. She and her husband split their time between homes in Seattle, Washington and Tucson, Arizona.

More About VPLC

The J.A. Jance event is the twelfth free author event sponsored by the Virginia Peninsula Literary Consortium. Previous events featured best-selling authors Amy Tan in 2007, Walter Mosley in 2008, David Baldacci in 2009, Orson Scott Card in 2010, Catherine Coulter in 2011, Nikki Giovanni in 2012, Jeff Shaara in 2013, T.C. Boyle in 2014, Brad Parks in 2015, Adriana Trigiani in 2016, and C.J. Box in 2017. The Consortium formed in 2006 to encourage the study and enjoyment of books and to foster cooperation among all types of libraries on the Peninsula.

The Virginia Peninsula Literary Consortium brings together the public libraries of Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson and York County and the academic libraries of Christopher Newport University, Hampton University and Thomas Nelson Community College, collectively serving all residents of the Virginia Peninsula. Programs presented by the Consortium are free and open to the public. To keep up-to-date on Consortium author events, sign up for the emailed newsletter or "like" the Consortium's Facebook page.